Markets these days are full of great advertising, glittery packets, and foods that claim a notch higher than they really are. Something as simple as a Multigrain bread or ice tea ready to make packets that you buy so frequently might be deceiving you. Know 12 such foods that you must avoid buying from the store, you’d know why. Read on!
Multi-grain bread / wholegrain bread
So you pick up a multigrain bread over the white one thinking it’s oh so healthy! Well, you must check the ingredient list to make sure whole wheat is the first, and main, ingredient—otherwise, you’re just getting a few grains mixed into regular white bread. You can replace the bread with brown rice, or oats, and enjoy a more healthy, power-packed snack instead of bread.
Low fat peanut butter
When companies take out the fat, they have to add something back in to make the food taste delicious. If you haven’t guessed it already, it’s sugar! What’s the point of all the working out if you are to eat sugar in the end? Or even, on a regular basis if you are used to eating peanut butter in the mornings, pick the regular one from the markets, and better still, make you own peanut butter, it is superbly simple. Here, check out how!
Ready to drink mixes
Instant mixes of juice or flavored drinks are one of the worst you can buy over the counter! Bottled juices, drinks can have more grams of sugar than a slice of cake, can you believe that?
Tomato-Based Sauces
Let’s face it, tomatoes are so easily available in India, yet all of us run behind sauces that have so many preservatives. You can easily make your own sauces from fresh tomatoes — particularly in the summer when they are plentiful, tasty, and cheap. Us Indians have been making chutneys, pickles, and marmalades for centuries now. Why pick them from the markets and eat chemicals when you can home cook them so easily.
Energy Drinks
Stick to a cup of coffee for your afternoon boost. Seemingly harmless caffeinated beverages are often sugar bombs which can even cause headaches and mood swings. No, us alone are not telling you this. Researches all across the globe say that energy drinks are especially harmful, they do more bad to the body than good. Pop an iron supplement instead.
Microwave Sandwiches
When you buy a pre-made sandwich, you’re really just paying for its elaborate packaging — plus a whole lot of salt, fat, and unnecessary additives for making them tastier. For the average cost of these seemingly healthy sandwiches, you could make a bigger, better, and more nutritious version yourself. Also, consider when you buy these off bakeries, you are literally paying extra for nothing.
Ready to Eat Food Packets
Ready to eat food packets consist basically of rice, salt, and spices — yet they’re priced way beyond the ingredients sold individually. You already have all of these ingredients at home, and they can be made for far lesser cost and much better taste. If you live away from home, take some time to cook yourself a meal on weekends or switch to healthier choices that will benefit you in the longer run.
Energy or protein bars
The expensive seemingly good protein bars that you “invest” in, are robbing you! These calorie-laden bars can have very high fat and sugar contents and are often as caloric as a regular candy bar. They’re also two to three times more expensive than a candy bar. If you need a boost, a vitamin-rich piece of fruit, a yogurt, or a small handful of nuts is more satiating and less expensive. Or add these other, healthier energy-boosting foods to your diet.
Spice mixes
Spice mixes will sure save you the whole buying spices, getting them grounded, and that too individually drama, but you never know what goes inside these packets. Indians used home ground spices for a reason. Look in your own pantry, and you’ll probably be surprised to discover just how many herbs you already have on hand, and you can improvise as much as you want.
Powdered iced tea mixes or prepared flavored iced tea
Powdered and gourmet iced teas are really a rip-off! It’s much cheaper to make your own iced tea from actual (inexpensive) tea bags and keep a jug in the fridge. Plus, many mixes and preparations are loaded with high fructose corn syrup and other sugars, along with artificial flavors. If you like your tea sweet but want to keep calories down, skip the sugar and add fruit juice instead.
Bottled water
Bottled water is a bad investment for so many reasons. It’s expensive compared to what’s coming out of the tap, its cost to the environment is high (it takes a lot of fossil fuel to produce and ship all those bottles), and it’s not even better for your health than the stuff running down your drain.
Even taking into account the cost of filters, water from home is still much cheaper than bottled water. Take a bottle along every time you leave the house, and skin the plastic ones, please.
Assorted Nuts
We checked unit prices of those small bags of trail mix hanging in supermarkets and they are no less than Rs200-350. Make your own for much, much less with dry roasted peanuts, 1 cup of raisins, and a handful of almonds, dried fruit, and candy coated chocolate. You can skip the chocolate if you want. Keep the mixture in a plastic or glass container with a tight lid for up to 3 weeks. Give these healthy trail mix recipes a try.
